Orlando Summer League wraps up with both Magic squads in action
The Orlando Summer League wrapped up play today making way for the Las Vegas Summer League. In this busy final day of action, both Magic squads (white and blue, respectively) were in action.
The surprise of the tournament, the Magic White squad, found themselves in the championship game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Several of the White team’s NBA hopefuls made their final cases to the scouts today.
None more than Keith Benson who had a monster game with 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting and six of eight from the free-throw line. Benson also chipped in 12 rebounds and five blocks. Needless to say it was a dominating performance in a thriller of a championship.
Another standout for the Magic was point guard Keith Appling who finished with 15 points on an efficient 5-of-10 shooting performance to go with six assists and two steals. Appling made his living today sneaking inside and either finishing at the rim, or finding a teammate as a result of a collapsed defense.
Yet another strong performance from Chris Singleton has him firmly in contention for a training camp invite this fall. He finished with 16 points on five of nine shooting including two of three from three point range.
Singleton — previously known for his hustle and defense — seems to have a much-improved offensive game that will mix well with his energetic, physical style. He’s emerged as an interesting case for an NBA roster because of his added shooting range and his continued willingness to play inside and do the little things that coaches love to see.
Unfortunately though, the Magic White team’s efforts were not enough, as they fell to Memphis 75-73.
The Grizzlies were led by point guard Russ Smith who had 15 points, nine assists and three steals. Smith nailed the game-winning floater in double overtime which, in summer league, is sudden death.
Both teams had their chances down the stretch in regulation, but after several failed and ill-advised plays leading to turnovers by both squads, overtime was needed. Both teams failed to score in the two-minute overtime period forcing the sudden death dagger by Smith, who had missed a potential game-winning half-court shot at the end of the first overtime.
The Magic’s Blue team fared much better, defeating the Indiana Pacers 98-74.
Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja were all out of the lineup, as they are surefire roster players for the Magic come time for the regular season. This opened up more minutes for unproven players to get a chance at showing out in front of the scouts.
Jordan Sibert led the Magic Blue team in scoring with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting including five of seven from three-point range.
Other standouts for the Blue squad included Nnanna Egwu who had 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, 11 rebounds and three blocks. It was a dominant performance in the low-block for Egwu, who stands 6-foot-11 and weighs in at 250 pounds.
Egwu has the size that NBA teams crave, but the question lies with his skill. Does he have the footwork to keep up with finesse bigs defensively?
Also, can he contribute offensively or would he simply be too much of a liability? These are all pressing questions that anyone considering signing Egwu will have to face.
Additionally, Jabril Trawick had a nice scoring game, chipping in 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Devyn Marble — who finished last season on the Magic’s roster — failed to impress. He finished with seven points on just 1-for-9 shooting. It is uncertain if Marble will be on the Magic’s roster when the season starts because of its non-guaranteed nature as well as his inconsistent showing in the Summer League.
On the other side, the Pacers’ lone bright spot was guard Joe Young, who has had absolutely no problem scoring in the Summer League.
Today was no exception. He finished with 28 points on 11 of 23 shooting. Young is an interesting prospect as he seems to do one thing well. Score. He’d be an interesting case as a sixth-man, instant offense type of player in the NBA.
All in all, it was another good summer league in Orlando, who have to be excited about some of the talent that was showcased this year. Scouting will continue in Vegas, but right now, the Magic will have time to evaluate what they’ve seen on their own court.